The invention relates to dynamically setting limits on commanded current, particularly with respect to motors.
Current limits are used in electronic circuitry in order to prevent excessive currents that may result in catastrophic failure of electronic components. Typically, if current is wildly excessive for a brief time or is high for an extended period of time, an electronic component can overheat resulting in failure. A maximum current level for each component can be determined for safe operation under all conditions. Unfortunately, by setting such a universally applicable current limit, higher power operation above that limit is prevented even when the component is cool or for otherwise acceptable short durations of time. For an electronic circuit controlling the operation of a motor, for example, such a limit may prevent high power brief duration maneuvers that would otherwise be desirable for the motorized unit being controlled. One way to overcome the limitation of such current limits is to provide larger and more expensive electronic components.